I am looking at an 80 Lbs. Thrust, 60" Shaft MotorGuide Xi5 Sonar/GPS Freshwater to fit on my 20' bass rig.
Any thoughts and experiences are appreciated.

If you are concerned about the mounting issues with the Xi5 (or any of the electric steer tm's), please take a look at the LiftSaver Trolling Motor Mount at www.liftsavertmmount.com. It helps with launching your boat (sometimes the tm will hit the trailer roller and bust up the plastic covers), they have a small mounting footprint so some holes may be exposed and you typically only get 4 bolts to hold it on the bow (my plate is 20" X 8" so covers the holes, allows as many bolts as you need, you can use the existing bolt holes and you can cant the mounting to assure the control head is inside the side of your boat).

I have an 80lb Xi5 on my Z18 (18' 8") and love it. You can pm me with any specific questions or give me a call at 469-853-5389 and I will tell you more about my experience with it.

Ron

I bought my X5 from David at shut-up-and-fish as he price matched the one I looked at on Hodges Marine website. David is located in Lewisville Texas so the money I saved for shipping made it even better not to mention David is a good guy.

http://www.shut-up-and-fish.com/motorgui...4v-p-18756.html

https://www.hodgesmarine.com/Motorguide-Xi5-Wireless-Trolling-Motor-Freshwa-p/mot940800240.htm

I strongly recommend the LiftSaver mentioned above. It is high quality and works extremely well on my Triton TRX186. It will give you peace of mind too.

If you have any questions contact BlueNitro (Ron), he can answer any questions you have. The other day, I was returning from having some maintenance on my Triton from Tommy Yetts at Rockwall Marine. I took particular notice to see what movement the TM was making as I was going over some bumps. I'm happy to report the TM wasn't moving/shaking or anything; it was solid; and I'm including the shaft to the head where in the past, the previous TM would bounce along with road bumps.

We have Lifesavers and can get you an xi5 next day. Heck we can even install it here. All in one place!

Thank you for the plug. Biggest part of our business comes from word of mouth and repeat business.

We carry the LiftSaver TM Mounting Brackets as well as all makes and models of Trolling Motors and can get you taken care of in most cases same day.

The Xi5 is by far the best investment I've made on my boat, it allows for much more fishing time and less trolling motor fighting!